It says a lot about Philadelphia Union’s history that their greatest contribution to the U.S. men’s national team is a general manager.

The Union have sent precious few players to the national team while wearing Union colors, and even fewer have made any sort of impact. Jack McInerney, Jeff Parke, Keegan Rosenberry, and Chris Pontius came and went in the red, white, and blue. Alejandro Bedoya and Maurice Edu played much more, but the bulk of their time with the national team came off the back of European performances.

Fafa Picault could change all of that.

Though Picault has one career cap already, this is unquestionably his breakthrough professional season. The speedy winger leads the Union with ten goals, and has been the Union’s most consistent danger in a sometimes-erratic attack.

He may have turned in his best performance of the season against Minnesota United on Saturday, firing home a first-half brace to lead the Union to only their third postseason appearance in franchise history.

For a club more accustomed to backing in to the postseason — or missing it entirely — Picault’s performance couldn’t have come at a better moment.

And now, he’ll have the chance to show the nation what he’s capable of.

For that, he’s PSP’s player of the week.

Honorable Mention: Carli Lloyd

It was also a good week for one of the greatest talents ever to come out of the Philadelphia area.

With the ghosts of the men’s catastrophic qualifying attempt still fresh in the minds of the public, the U.S. women set out to secure qualification to the 2019 World Cup, where they will attempt to defend their crown.

First, though, they need to qualify — and Delran’s own Carli Lloyd is determined to play her part.

She notched a hat trick on Sunday night in Cary, North Carolina, leading the U.S. past Panama and securing their spot in the CONCACAF qualifying semifinal.

It’s not the most famous hat trick Lloyd will ever score. But it still counts for three goals, and it pushed the U.S. closer to the World Cup.

No doubt Lloyd hopes to repeat her heroics from the last World Cup final in France next year.

Author: Peter Andrews
As PSP's Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief, Peter Andrews covers the Union from the far side of the United States. He has reported on the Union and USMNT from eleven different venues in the U.S. and Canada, and writes a regular column for PSP. He is a lawyer and a proud native of Wilmington, Delaware. Follow him on Twitter @pfandrews.